Mummification in Ancient Egypt

Mummification in Ancient Egypt

Mummification was practiced in Ancient Egypt tin order to preserve the body for the after life . mummy

Ancient Egyptian believed in life after death This practice started and early as the old kingdom time in Ancient Egypt but it reach it is peak during the new kingdom. This ritual was essential to guarantee the survival of both the soul and the body. The ritual of mummification has been through many stages of evolution and, but most of its secrets have not been completely revealed yet.

Traditionally all what we know of the mummification came to us the classical sources of history such as Greek writers and papyrus drawing and wall relives and the rest through studying the mummies that e found intact inside the ancient Egyptian tombs.

The most common way of mummification was as follows:mummy

The brain was removed through the nose and was discarded. The viscera was removed and stored in jars known today as the canopic jars, while the body was soaked into Naturn salt for 70 days until it was dehydrated, artificial ayes were placed instead of the real eyes which had dehydrated , then body is wrapped with 100 's of meters of gum coated linen and the jewels were inserted within the layers of the wrapping.

Canopic Jars:

It was necessary to complete the mummification conserving the interior limbs such as the brain , the viscera and so on , putting them into a square chest which was at first , during the old Kingdom it was divided into 4 compartments and was placed into a pit near to the sarcophagus, this box was made of stone or wood. Then apart from the ends of the 4th dynasty and en general during the Middle Kingdom and the Modern Kingdom that chest was turned to 4 jars .The stopper s of these jars are taken the shapes of 4 different heads ( according to the shapes of the 4 sons of Horus )

he Canopic jars are as follows:mummy

- The first was Am-sty, with human head shape. 

- The 2nd one was Hapy with a monkey head,.

- The 3rd one was Dwa-mut-f with a Jackal head,

- The 4th was Kbh-snw- f with a falcon head.

The Greeks called these jars the Canopic Jars relating them to the deity of the old City "Canop" now it is village in the province of (Abu Kyr). That deity was carry the name of Osiris and was represented in the shape of a jar with Osiris head. And during the Ptolemaic period these jars were called the canopic jars.